Ceasefire groups back Wa roadmap

Ceasefire groups back Wa roadmap

Politics

Reporter: Hawkeye

A high-level member from a Shan ceasefire group assured S.H.A.N. yesterday the Panghsang declaration on 15 October was welcomed by other parties. 

The five-point conditions prescribed by the United Wa State Army, Shan State Army "North" and the Mongla group after a three-day meeting in the Wa capital of Panghsang: Freedom of meeting among ethnic leaders, Freedom to choose representatives by each ethnic group, Participation in the National Convention by "proper" delegates, Freedom of discussion and activities in the National Convention and To lay down democratic principles were "in essence" identical to what other parties were demanding, he said. "The only differences I can see are the wording and smaller details that can be straightened out once all of them meet together." 

The officer who is from Shan State National Army a.k.a Shan State Army "Central", with which the SSA "North" had formed Shan State Peace Council in 1996, said he was happy to remain incognito. 

The Wa participation has brought some leverage to the cause of freedom, he added. In the past, the UWSA had opted to stay clear of politics, contenting itself with business activities.

Some dissidents, however, remain skeptical. Referring to the presence of People's Liberation Army along Burma's northeastern frontier since July during a close door meeting in northern Thailand on Sunday (26 October), an ethnic politician reportedly thought aloud: "What is the object of the whole exercise? Is it to force Rangoon to come to terms with the opposition, or is it vice versa?" 

Nevertheless, others have expressed their welcome to the arrival on Burma's political scene of the Wa. "It is very encouraging to see the rather politically quietist Special Regions issuing a statement which more or less follows the UNA line." 

UNA stands for United Nationalities Alliance, an "informal" coalition of 8 ethnic parties, formed on 31 July 2002, that aimed "to prepare for the eventual tripartite dialogue," according to Khun Toon Oo, leader of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy and a co-founder. 

At the same time, a participant at the Sunday meeting was reported to have counselled the need for a common platform. "Too many roadmaps is dangerous," he cautioned. 

The word "roadmap" to describe a series of monitorable steps to measure progress in Burma's democratization came into general circulation after Thailand's foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai publicly used the word for the first time on his meeting with his counterpart Benita Ferrero-Waldner, of Austria, considered a moderate European nation on the issues of Burma, on 15 July.